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City to seek recycling bids

A company receiving the City of Starkville’s recyclables for nearly a year will soon quit, prompting leaders to seek out a new contractor.
Starkville Recycling has about two months left of its voluntary service in the city’s free curbside recycling program, which kicked off in October 2009.
The city received a termination notice from Stan Shurden, owner of Starkville Recyling, this week after months of unanswered requests for documentation on the total weight of recycling collections.
On Tuesday, the Starkville Board of Aldermen plans to advertise for bids from other recyclers, giving the companies 30 days to respond, recycling chair Eric Parker said.
“We should not miss a week of pickup as Stan is required by contract to continue to pick up for 60 more days,” Parker wrote in a e-mail to the city’s Recycling Committee, which met late Thursday afternoon
Environmental Services Department head Sharon Boyd said that the curbside recycling program will continue as is and possibly incorporate 63-gallon carts if additional grant funding is approved.
City officials have applied for two $25,000 state grants, one for publicizing the program and the other for equipment such as bags, carts and bins.
Boyd said she is planning a celebration of the curbside program’s first anniversary, which will take place on Oct. 16.